This is No Place for Esoterica

Dec 11, 2009

This novel is Chetan Bhagat's 4th novel after "Five point some one", "One night @ the call center" and "The 3 mistakes of my life".

The first 2 novels were already made as movies - "3 Idiots" and "hello" respectively. "Hello" didnt do well in the box office. But, lets wait for "3 Idiots"...

Now, back to "2 states"... The story is about the struggle of a young couple Krish Malhotra and Ananya Swaminathan, Krish is from the state of Punjab and Ananya from Tamil Nadu. The novel vividly portrays the cultural differences between the two states which stands as a huge wall between these guys. How do Krish and Ananya break this wall? How they convince their parents?

The story starts well at IIMA where Krish meets Ananya at the mess hall. From there he falls in love and she falls in love again and the story goes on and on.

+ Points:

Chetan Bhagat's humor is his biggest weapon. He writes the story like an autobiography of the character Krish Malhotra. So, it should speak of Krish's thoughts and he has really done a good job at that. His writing style is what has earned him as "The country's most favourite author".

Chetan has also shown the mindset of the parents. Also, what the Punjabis think about Tamilians and vice versa... Such things, we might have already witnessed in our work circle or friends circle. The experience of Krish in Chennai is the highlight of the novel.

Characterizations ??? The novel has other characters also, who play important role. The parents and in-laws of Krish. Each character is unique and can be expected at Indian Homes. The verbal disputes between the parents of Krish and Ananya is what expected out of such situation and has been captured well in the novel.

- Points:

Ok. I said humor is good. And thats his plus. But, I can point out atleast dozens of places where he deliberately "tries" humor. Which, FYI, didnt work. There were too many metaphors in this novel which could have otherwise been avoided. It actually appeared like the author is trying to flaunt his writing skills. Maybe, in the next novel, he should keep this in mind.

Pace of the story??? The pace of the novel Sloooooooooows down whenever Krish talks about his boring work life. Alas, Chetan, it was boring for us toooo. Characters like Bala(Krish's boss) and the misunderstanding between Krish and him is a big minus. It felt like reading "One night @ the Call Centre" again, where he has captured the same boss-employee relationship.

Ananya??? The character was more illogical than logical, in the sense whatever she does in the novel. It was like a totally fictional character from a famous bollywood or kollywood movie. I dont know, man...apart from other characters, this Ananya alone was outstanding... ooops sorry... Standing out... Thumbs down....

Chetan should have done some more research regarding Tamilians. I think that could have made the novel more realistic (I am assuming that is what the author's intent was). It is good to see the Chennai characters actually speaking Tamil. But, OMG, that was not Tamil, after all... Ha ha... There also Tamil readers who are reading your books. Please dont make us laugh at this. And, ofcourse there is a good-old disclaimer about the comments on South Indians. Chetan, the same thing applies to you as well, "If you say dont take this in the wrong sense, I have got no choice but to take it in the wrong sense". (Maybe, Krish should not have said this similar dialog about Bala which made me comment)

ANd, the story, I have seen atleast 4 movies of the same or similar story in Tamil alone. So, it was like watching a very commercial "masala" movie.

MY RATING:

2.8/5.0

Though this novel lags in several points, Chetan Bhagat's writing style compensates for all losses. Read this novel for a good time pass. I am sure you will get pissed at many places. But, this novel is worth the price you pay. Hats off to your writing, Chetan. For this, you are still in our favorite authors list.

I am expecting a good and quality novel from CHetan Bhagat. He could spend some more time in researching before preparing his next novel. Expecting his next novel to be much better than this...